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The Point News December 10, 1996 L e t t er s 7
Students accuse editorial of shortchanging biology majors
As a current Principles of Biology stu­dent,
I was very disappointed with the
thoughts expressed in the editorial which
appeared in The Point News on November
19. The article dealt with competition and
academic honesty, and stated that Prin­ciples
of Biology students do not uphold
the standards of honesty expected at this
college. The author states that incidents of
cheating on lab practicals are “common­place,”
and that competition among stu­dents
for the few available A’s is “cut­throat.”
While I agree with the author’s basic
idea that dishonesty should not be toler­ated,
and that learning should be a commu­nity
effort, not a competition among stu­dents
, I was offended that the author chose
to use Principles of Biology students as the
primary example of this dishonesty. I
participated in the recent lab practical, and
while I won’ t deny that some discussion of
the contents probably took place among
students, I do not believe that this cheating
was “commonplace.” Where did this in­formation
come from? Have these inci­dents
been documented? As the author
states, Principles of Biology is graded on
a curve. Therefore, early testers would
only be hurting their own grades by dis­cussing
the test with their classmates.
I also disagree with the statement that
competition for grades is “cutthroat.” Any­one
who has ever taken Principles knows
that the class is very challenging, and few'
students really expect to get A’s. In my
experience, my classmates have been help­ful
and cooperative. I often study with
other Principles of Biology students, and
we are always willing to help each other with
problems on laboratory reports or questions
about the material covered. Maybe it is
because I am not a competitive person by
nature, but I have not noticed an atmosphere
of excessive competition among students. I
do not know of any specific instances of the
cheating or academic sabotage that the au­thor
considers “increasingly likely.” Every­one
wants to do well, but not at the expense
of others.
Since arriving at St. Mary’s College, I
have noticed that there seems to be a general
dislike for biology majors among others on
this campus. We are often viewed either as
people who think they are superior to every­one
else, or people who are constantly whin­ing
about how much work they have to do.
While this is true for some students, it is not
true for everyone. I am not sure where this
negative sentiment toward biology students
began, but The Point News’ portrayal of
Principles of Biology students as dishonest
and extremely competitive will only give
support to these generalizations.
In the future, Point News editors need to
consider the consequences of singling out a
particular group of students as a “bad ex­ample.”
There are probably occasional inci­dents
of cheating in every department on this
campus. All students work hard, and all
students want to receive good grades for
their efforts. In every group, there will be
someone willing to boost his or her GPA at
any cost. Why is it that Principles of Biology
students, specifically, should have messages
concerning academic honesty “pressed into
their heads?”
-Katie Painter
I am writing in response to Mr. Irwin’s
editorial which stereotyped all Principles of
Biology students as low life cheats. I want
to know on what basis he made all of his
conclusions. Last time I checked he was not
a biology major. Nor has he spent any time
in aPOB lecture or lab class. Everything he
has written is based primarily on hearsay,
not fact. Not to mention the fact that he is
only a freshman, and has not spent enough
time on campus to witness the things he is
speaking of. I am also a freshman, but
unlike Mr. Irwin, I am a biology major. I
have not seen or heard of any cheating going
on. The people in Principles are there
because they wish to pursue a career in
biology or they have a deep regard of the
subject. These are not things which would
drive a student to cheat. And if there are so
many dishonest people in the class why is
the class average 62%, and why is the
average on many of our quizzes and tests
below a 70%? I would think that if these
people intended to cheat for a better grade
than the grades would be higher. Come on,
if we have made it thus far the odds are we
really have what it takes to get the grades on
our own. This is one of the most competi­tive
schools in the state, I seriously doubt
that anyone here would be willing to chance
getting thrown out. That would be left on
your permanent record, and then where
would we be? Flipping burgers at Roy
Rogers, that’s where.
We also must remember that the biology
program is the one that draws the most
students in to this school. We must ask
ourselves why would these students, fully
knowing when they applied here that it was
going to be tough, put themselves through
weeks of torture just to throw it all away with
one dishonest act. I think that Mr. Irwin
needs to look at the situation which he is
writing about more clearly next time. In
regards to the stolen test, as far as I know no
one is sure who stole the test, it might not
have been a bio major. Who’s to say it wasn ’ t
amathmajororeducationmajor. Students in
both of these majors are also required to take
calculus, it seems to me that it could have
been any student on campus that stole the
test-even the editor of this column, Mr.
Irwin himself. One last fact that should have
been considered is that no more than half of
the POB students are in calculus, many put
it off so they would have more time to study
for biology.
I invite Mr. Irwin to spend some time
talking to current POB students to find out if
they have ever seriously thought about cheat­ing.
I am here for an education, I know that
to go on to medical school I need to be better
than perfect. I also know that I am smart
enough to accept that if I am not good enough,
I am just not good enough. In talking to my
peers I learned that many are extremely of­fended
by the remarks in the editorial on
November 19. I suggest that if this school
wishes to keep its good reputation, it should
cater to those which make it so well known,
biology majors.
-Crissi Gamache
Editor’s Note: Gamache and Painter are
referring to the unsigned editorial on cheat­ing
in our Nov. 19 issue. Although Irwin
holds the position o f Editorials Editor, the
opinions expressed in an editorial reflect not
only those o f Mr. Irwin, but o f the entire
Point News editorial board.
&
Have a Merry Christmas ^
and a Happy T^ew Tear£
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The Point News December 10, 1996 L e t t er s 7
Students accuse editorial of shortchanging biology majors
As a current Principles of Biology stu­dent,
I was very disappointed with the
thoughts expressed in the editorial which
appeared in The Point News on November
19. The article dealt with competition and
academic honesty, and stated that Prin­ciples
of Biology students do not uphold
the standards of honesty expected at this
college. The author states that incidents of
cheating on lab practicals are “common­place,”
and that competition among stu­dents
for the few available A’s is “cut­throat.”
While I agree with the author’s basic
idea that dishonesty should not be toler­ated,
and that learning should be a commu­nity
effort, not a competition among stu­dents
, I was offended that the author chose
to use Principles of Biology students as the
primary example of this dishonesty. I
participated in the recent lab practical, and
while I won’ t deny that some discussion of
the contents probably took place among
students, I do not believe that this cheating
was “commonplace.” Where did this in­formation
come from? Have these inci­dents
been documented? As the author
states, Principles of Biology is graded on
a curve. Therefore, early testers would
only be hurting their own grades by dis­cussing
the test with their classmates.
I also disagree with the statement that
competition for grades is “cutthroat.” Any­one
who has ever taken Principles knows
that the class is very challenging, and few'
students really expect to get A’s. In my
experience, my classmates have been help­ful
and cooperative. I often study with
other Principles of Biology students, and
we are always willing to help each other with
problems on laboratory reports or questions
about the material covered. Maybe it is
because I am not a competitive person by
nature, but I have not noticed an atmosphere
of excessive competition among students. I
do not know of any specific instances of the
cheating or academic sabotage that the au­thor
considers “increasingly likely.” Every­one
wants to do well, but not at the expense
of others.
Since arriving at St. Mary’s College, I
have noticed that there seems to be a general
dislike for biology majors among others on
this campus. We are often viewed either as
people who think they are superior to every­one
else, or people who are constantly whin­ing
about how much work they have to do.
While this is true for some students, it is not
true for everyone. I am not sure where this
negative sentiment toward biology students
began, but The Point News’ portrayal of
Principles of Biology students as dishonest
and extremely competitive will only give
support to these generalizations.
In the future, Point News editors need to
consider the consequences of singling out a
particular group of students as a “bad ex­ample.”
There are probably occasional inci­dents
of cheating in every department on this
campus. All students work hard, and all
students want to receive good grades for
their efforts. In every group, there will be
someone willing to boost his or her GPA at
any cost. Why is it that Principles of Biology
students, specifically, should have messages
concerning academic honesty “pressed into
their heads?”
-Katie Painter
I am writing in response to Mr. Irwin’s
editorial which stereotyped all Principles of
Biology students as low life cheats. I want
to know on what basis he made all of his
conclusions. Last time I checked he was not
a biology major. Nor has he spent any time
in aPOB lecture or lab class. Everything he
has written is based primarily on hearsay,
not fact. Not to mention the fact that he is
only a freshman, and has not spent enough
time on campus to witness the things he is
speaking of. I am also a freshman, but
unlike Mr. Irwin, I am a biology major. I
have not seen or heard of any cheating going
on. The people in Principles are there
because they wish to pursue a career in
biology or they have a deep regard of the
subject. These are not things which would
drive a student to cheat. And if there are so
many dishonest people in the class why is
the class average 62%, and why is the
average on many of our quizzes and tests
below a 70%? I would think that if these
people intended to cheat for a better grade
than the grades would be higher. Come on,
if we have made it thus far the odds are we
really have what it takes to get the grades on
our own. This is one of the most competi­tive
schools in the state, I seriously doubt
that anyone here would be willing to chance
getting thrown out. That would be left on
your permanent record, and then where
would we be? Flipping burgers at Roy
Rogers, that’s where.
We also must remember that the biology
program is the one that draws the most
students in to this school. We must ask
ourselves why would these students, fully
knowing when they applied here that it was
going to be tough, put themselves through
weeks of torture just to throw it all away with
one dishonest act. I think that Mr. Irwin
needs to look at the situation which he is
writing about more clearly next time. In
regards to the stolen test, as far as I know no
one is sure who stole the test, it might not
have been a bio major. Who’s to say it wasn ’ t
amathmajororeducationmajor. Students in
both of these majors are also required to take
calculus, it seems to me that it could have
been any student on campus that stole the
test-even the editor of this column, Mr.
Irwin himself. One last fact that should have
been considered is that no more than half of
the POB students are in calculus, many put
it off so they would have more time to study
for biology.
I invite Mr. Irwin to spend some time
talking to current POB students to find out if
they have ever seriously thought about cheat­ing.
I am here for an education, I know that
to go on to medical school I need to be better
than perfect. I also know that I am smart
enough to accept that if I am not good enough,
I am just not good enough. In talking to my
peers I learned that many are extremely of­fended
by the remarks in the editorial on
November 19. I suggest that if this school
wishes to keep its good reputation, it should
cater to those which make it so well known,
biology majors.
-Crissi Gamache
Editor’s Note: Gamache and Painter are
referring to the unsigned editorial on cheat­ing
in our Nov. 19 issue. Although Irwin
holds the position o f Editorials Editor, the
opinions expressed in an editorial reflect not
only those o f Mr. Irwin, but o f the entire
Point News editorial board.
&
Have a Merry Christmas ^
and a Happy T^ew Tear£
End o f Semester Specials 9 9 9
Andre Champagne
Molson
Corona 9 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3
$ 3 , 9 9
$